Russia-Ukraine latest updates: Griner freed in prisoner swap

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had spoken to the sister of Paul Whelan, the ex-US marine who is being detained in Russia.

“I spoke to his sister, Elizabeth Whelan, a short while ago. I have to say the Whelan family is remarkable,” Blinken told CBS News.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has told reporters the Biden administration had no reason to believe the Russian government was involved in a decision by Turkey to block ships from transiting to the Mediterranean Sea.

Yellen also said the administration saw no reason oil shipments from Kazakhstan should be subjected to new procedures.

The Kremlin has said that the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula was vulnerable to Ukrainian attacks after officials said they had shot down a drone near a key naval base.

The latest drone attack came after Russian President Vladimir Putin recently visited the only bridge connecting Crimea with the Russian mainland to survey repair work on the key artery damaged in a blast Moscow blamed on Kyiv.

“There are certainly risks because the Ukrainian side continues its policy of organising terrorist attacks,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

“But, on the other hand, information we get indicates that effective countermeasures are being taken.”

Griner’s release was negotiated between the US and Russia only, the White House has said, refuting a claim from Saudi Arabia that it was involved.

“The only countries that negotiated this deal were the United States and Russia,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said when asked about Saudi Arabia’s role.

“There was no mediation involved.”

Bout has arrived in Russia, according to state television.

“Don’t worry, everything is OK, I love you very much,” he told his mother Raisa in comments broadcast by state television.

He spoke to his family when his plane made a refuelling stop in Russia.

US President Joe Biden approved a prisoner swap for Griner last week but the grant of clemency for Bout was not approved until Thursday, the White House has said.

Pope Francis was unable to hold back tears as he offered prayers for Ukraine during a traditional ceremony in central Rome.

He briefly broke down during the afternoon ceremony at the city’s Piazza di Spagna to mark the Immaculate Conception, a public holiday in Italy.

“I would have liked to have brought to you today the thanksgiving of the Ukrainian people,” he said, addressing the statue of the Virgin Mary that stands on a column in the square.

He had to pause for a moment, his body shaking with emotion, at which point the audience broke into applause.

He continued, “Of the Ukrainian people for the peace we have long been asking the Lord for.

“Instead,” he said, his voice still shaking with emotion, “I still have to present to you the supplication of the children, of the elderly, of the fathers and mothers, of the young people of that tormented land.”

The mother of arms dealer Viktor Bout has thanked Putin for her son’s release as part of a prisoner swap with the US.

The release happened “thanks to our president”, Raisa Bout said in televised remarks.

“I am so grateful. A low maternal bow to the Russian foreign ministry with Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov at its helm,” she said.

She said she was also grateful to the “kind people” in the US, thanking them for having “faith”.

“You cannot say that all of them are evil,” she added.

Finland’s foreign minister has said that many issues over Turkey’s concerns over terrorism set out in a memorandum to allow Finland and Sweden to join NATO had been clarified, though a date for ratification by Ankara remained missing.

“What we are still missing is the clear date, a clear plan for the Turkish parliament to deal with this issue,” Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told a news conference with his Swedish and US counterparts during a visit to Washington.

“We know that Turkey is going to elections. Of course, our hope is that a decision comes from Turkey sooner rather than later.”

Turkey is one of two NATO members that have yet to ratify the accession of the Nordic countries.

Blinken has said he is convinced the US will be able to call Sweden and Finland NATO allies soon and said Turkey’s concerns about the two nations joining the alliance are being addressed.

The secretary of state, speaking at a news briefing following meetings at the Department of State with his Swedish and Finnish counterparts, said the two nations are already integrating into the work of the alliance.

Germany’s parliament will approve a 1.35-billion-euro ($1.4bn) purchase of 20,000 encrypted radios for its military on December 14, a person familiar with the matter said.

The deal will also offer an option to buy another 14,000 radios for 1.5 billion euros ($1.58bn).

The acquisition of the radios from German company Rohde & Schwarz is part of modernising the military’s command and control system.

It will be one of the first significant deals for the 100-billion-euro ($105.5bn) special fund set up after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The European Union is set to agree on new sanctions on Iran over human rights abuses and the supply of drones to Russia, France’s foreign ministry spokesperson says.

Speaking to reporters, Anne-Claire Legendre said foreign ministers would discuss new designations on individuals and entities involved in the crackdown on protesters in Iran and entities exporting drones to Russia.

Iran has said it shipped several drones to Russia before the invasion.

Russia denies its forces have used Iranian drones to attack Ukraine.

The EU has already imposed two rounds of sanctions since October in the form of asset freezes and travel bans.

Ukraine’s economy ministry says an open selection process will be held to choose four independent members of the state energy provider Naftogaz’s supervisory board.

The board has not been operating since September 2021 due to a dispute over the sacking of Naftogaz’s then-chief executive, Andriy Kobolyev, and the rapid appointment of his successor, Yuriy Vitrenko.

While the process of appointing new board members was delayed by Russia invading Ukraine in February, Vitrenko has been replaced by a new chief executive, Oleksiy Chernyshov, who has said he will boost international investors’ confidence.

Vitrenko had said Naftogaz’s efficient work depended on corporate governance’s effectiveness and called for independent board members to be selected in an open competition.

Chernyshov said on Wednesday that recent Russian attacks on Ukraine had damaged 350 natural gas facilities though production should be largely restored by year-end.

He said the loss of gas production capacity amounted to around $700m.

The family of Paul Wheelan, a former US marine who remains detained in Russia, say they are “devasted” he was not part of the prisoner swap with Brittney Griner.

“As the family member of a Russian hostage, I can literally only imagine the joy she will have, being reunited with her loved ones, and in time for the holidays,” David Whelan, Paul’s brother, said in a statement.

“There is no greater success than for a wrongful detainee to be freed and for them to go home. The Biden Administration made the right decision to bring Ms Griner home, and to make the deal that was possible, rather than waiting for one that wasn’t going to happen.”

President Biden said Russia was treating Wheelan’s cases differently from Griners’ “for totally illegitimate reasons”.

“And while we have not yet succeeded in securing Paul’s release, we are not giving up. We will never give up,” he said.

Finland will consider granting arms export permits to Turkey on a case-by-case basis, Finland’s defence minister says while visiting Ankara.

Finland and Sweden asked to join NATO in May in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but their bids require the approval of all 30 member states.

Turkey stands opposed to their membership, accusing the Nordic countries of hosting Kurdish fighters.

“In principle, it is possible that going forward some permits can be granted,” Kaikkonen said after meeting with his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar.

Applications would be processed case by case as they arrive, he added.

Finland must lift an arms embargo on Ankara as a condition for securing support from Turkey for its NATO bid, Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday.

Ukraine’s GDP will fall more than expected this year due to Russian air raids on the country’s energy infrastructure, according to central bank Deputy Governor Sergiy Nikolaychuk.

“The fall in GDP will be deeper this year than we had expected in October,” he said at a press conference. “Next year, the economic recovery will be very lethargic and much lower than we had expected.”

The head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Mikhail Podolyak, writes on Twitter about what he thinks Russia might do this winter.

He says: “Putin’s classic triad, or the Kremlin’s bets for this winter: 1. Genocidal energy attacks to leave millions without electricity and cause a flood of refugees. 2. An information campaign about the need for a ceasefire to end suffering. 3. Nuclear intimidation in case of defeat.”

Putin's classic triad, or the Kremlin's bets for this winter:

1. Genocidal energy attacks to leave millions without electricity and cause a flood of refugees.
2. An information campaign about the need for a ceasefire to end suffering.
3. Nuclear intimidation in case of defeat.

— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) December 8, 2022

Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem, reporting from Moscow, says the freed prisoner, Viktor Bout, has arrived in Russia.

“[Bout] is a very mysterious personality. As we know, he was arrested in 2008 in Thailand by a joint US-Thai force and extradited to the US, where he was sentenced to 25 years for planning espionage against US citizens and officials.

“According to what we gathered, his name was linked to several arms deals from Africa to Asia, from Congo to Liberia to Sierra Leone, reaching to Afghanistan and Lebanon, so there is a lot on him,” Hashem said.

He added that Russian officials on Telegram are celebrating Bout’s release, with one describing him as a “wonderful person”.

Here are four maps, which we update daily, charting the latest developments in the war.

The US basketball star Brittney Griner has been freed from prison in a Russian prisoner swap for Viktor Bout. Who exactly is the man Russia wanted back?

Here is everything you need to know about the arms dealer.